“You shouldn’t bring people in if you’re not going to look after them,” he said.

Mr Casey said “a discussion” on immigration needs to take place rather than a situation where people are put in “over-cramped hotels and given €21 a week to live on”.

He also questions whether other EU countries have facilitated asylum seekers coming here.

“They didn’t just fly from Syria or Africa straight to Dublin. Under the EU rules, whichever country you land in first, you get your passport. That’s a discussion that needs to be had.”

Asked for his position on EU membership, Mr Casey said he believed Ireland should remain in the union but leave the eurozone.

“We should [be in the EU] but I don’t think Europe should have so much control over the day-to-day running of the country. I believe countries should have their own currenc0ies. That gives them the ability to control their economy,” he said.

One of his key campaigns, if elected, will relate to the environment.

He wants to ban single-use plastics in Ireland.

“I believe it is a solvable problem and wouldn’t it be great if Ireland was the one to lead the way,” Mr Casey said.